The Israel Aquarium, Jerusalem

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Romi Sussman

Loved it…hour or hour and a half..supporting things of this nature in my opinion is so important! How special to have an aquarium in Jerusalem!!

Description:

The Gottesman Family Israel Aquarium, Jerusalem is the first public aquarium in Israel and is dedicated to the conservation of Israel’s marine habitats – currently a major conservation challenge in Israel.

It is currently operating on a trial basis with special prices for the time-being of 50 shekel a ticket. (See website for more details).

In order to visit the Israel Aquarium during the running in period, visitors must register for a tour or unguided visit in advance. Register and purchase tour tickets HERE

Only guided group visits are possible during the week in the morning. weekdays from 14:00, weekends and holidays visits are unguided.

Visits and tours last for 90 minutes.

You must arrive at the main entrance of the Israel Aquarium 15 minutes prior to the start time of your tour/time slot for which you have purchased a ticket.

Parking is available at the Aquarium entrance.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AQUARIUM ENTRANCE IS SITUATED 1 KM AWAY FROM THE ZOO’S MAIN ENTRANCE

AND THERE IS CURRENTLY NO BUS SERVICE LINKING THE TWO SITES. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ACCESS THE AQUARIUM FROM INSIDE THE ZOO.

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5.0

Tammy Silva

We were there Tuesday it was great !!!
We bought 3 tickets in advance and got another one in the tickets Office
The parking is past the zoo parking lot . There are lockers to keep your things that are free of charge.
If you want to feed the fish there are machines that are 1 shekel for fish food .
Enjoy !!!!

It was nice. I like aquariums. very well done. it isnt a humongous aquarium like the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago but it was really nice, specializing in fish found off the various Israeli coasts, along with some other displays. there was some really cool stuff there. At the time they took our group into the breeding and acclimating room where they breed and acclimate new fish before putting them in the real displays. it was pretty cool

We went with our kids a few months ago – 5 people, 40 shekels a go – very expensive for what is less than an hour tour and really not as wow as I expected. There are some very photogenic fish but for my very inquisitive almost 8 yr olds and 11 yr old it wasn’t more than a nice outing. Really overpriced IMO

Another post about the Israel Aquarium (we went thanks to posts here and another FB group). Located just after the Biblical zoo in jerusalem. I think it costed 45nis per person.
Advantages:
Clean, organised, toilets available.
AC. The aquarium is indoors.
Child (4.5yrs) had a blast. More than we expected.
Baby (1yr) was in his buggy most of the time. The whole place is very stoller friendly.
Was very very unpacked – a lot of luck involved there. Needs booking in advance (just to buy tickets online beforehand. Maybe you can buy there) which means they can limit how crowded the place gets.
Parking lot very close to the entrance.
Great staff.
Great lounging areas with shade in the gardens for having lunch.
All in all, slightly expensive for a 2/3 hour or so deal, but came back with great memories, and not all hot, sweaty and exhausted as we would have been in other outings. Though i’m not sure we would have driven from far specially for just that.

We went two weeks ago on a Friday and even though we booked tickets for a specific tour, there were not actual tours happening. For us, that was better as we were able to just wander around at our own pace, but if we had been wanting the tour it would have been disappointing.
There aren’t any massive fish/sea creatures like you might be accustomed to from an American aquarium. Also no penguins – I assume because they have at the zoo.
All in all we really enjoyed though – and there were a lot of families and I didn’t hear any complaining.